They’re lean, they’re mean, they’re the original 501 Levis Jeans. And the material, if not the actual pants, has been around for over 200 years.
There is great debate over where the heart and soul of
Levis jeans, the denim material, came from. General theory says that it was named for a material first made in France around the end of the 1700s, and known as serge de Nimes. But the problem was that the serge, was made of silk and wool, whereas denim has always been made of cotton. The name however, made sense, since de Nimes, of Nimes, was simply pronounced denim.
Complicating matters, was that a material was imported from Genoa, Italy around the same time. Jean, was a fustian- a blend of cotton, linen and/or wool. It sounded the same, but just wasn’t made the same. Though similar in many ways, denim was the stronger material, which is likely why it ended up in Levi’s jeans, instead of the sturdy, but less durable, jean.
Both materials crossed the Atlantic to America, in the late 18th century, where by the 1800s, each had developed a distinctive composition and use. Jean went into clothes worn by men not engaged in manual labor, while denim became the material of the workingman’s attire.
Levi Strauss, who had immigrated from Germany in 1829, set off for San Francisco in 1853 to open a branch of his step-brother’s dry goods business. Among the many items he sold were jean pants that he ordered from back East. Then in 1872, he was contacted by Jacob Davis, of Reno, Nevada. Davis had a brilliant idea to strengthen men’s pants by adding metal rivets. But he didn’t have the money for the patent. He proposed a partnership, and so Strauss paid for the copyright, and in the face of demand for stronger, longer lasting pants, switched the fabric they were made of to denim. But the “jean” stuck, and although he was manufacturing Levi’s waist overalls, the original name for Levi’s jeans, that label eventually fell by the wayside.
Over the years, Levi’s jeans have adapted from work clothes to leisure wear, and from plain waist overalls to cuts of every dimension and demand for comfort, encompassing both men and women, and the differences in their anatomy and tastes.
Among the most popular styles of Levi jeans today, are:
Men’s Levi's
- 501 Original Jeans
- 501 Original Jeans (shrink to fit)
- 559 Relaxed Straight
- 512 Slim Fit
- 560 Comfort Fit
- 550 Relaxed Fit
- 517 Boot Cut
- 567 Loose Boot Cut
- 569 Loose Straight
- 527 Low Rise Boot Fit
- 529 Low Rise Straight
Women’s Levi's
- 524 Too Super Low Boot Cut
- 518 Super Low Boot Cut (Juniors)
- 503 Super Low Skinny (Juniors)
- 519 Low Flare (Juniors)
- 504 Low Slouch Straight (Juniors)
- 513 Low Slouch Boot Cut (Juniors)
- 509 Low Slouch Tough Cut (Juniors)
- 545 Nouveau Low Slim Boot Cut (Misses)
- 525 Nouveau Low Boot Cut (Misses)
- 515 Nouveau Boot Cut (Misses)
- 505 Nouveau Low Straight (Misses)
- 505 Nouveau Low Straight Cuffs (Misses)
- 501 The Original (Misses)
- 550 Classic Relaxed Boot Cut (Misses)
- 550 Classic Relaxed Tapered (Misses)
- 512 Classic Slim Tapered (Misses)
About the Author
Johann Erickson is the owner of Online Discount Mart and TV Products 4 Less. Please include an active link to our site if you'd like to reprint this article.